A RECAP OF MY FIRST WEEK

To recap my first week here before the actual school year started, I left the United States at 6am on Monday February 22, 2010 and arrived in Seoul, South Korea the evening of Tuesday February 23, 2010. Excited, tired and overwhelmed my nerves slowly calmed once I saw my dear friend Alison. Pep my driver, a kind one at that had mentioned to me that he had picked up Alison just yesterday and would be kind enough to take me to her place before taking me to my new living space. Alison along with Pep and the realtor helped me with my bags up to my 15 by 15 foot room or should I say closet. Unsure as to what I just stepped into, Pep and the realtor smiled and waved good bye before I could think of any questions, all of which I have thought up now with a more clear and non drowsy head. Any how Alison distracted me with the story of her day and within the hour of being in my new home I fell soundly to sleep.

Pumped and ready to go, Alison and I meet up with the other new teachers (most of them being from Canada) at one of the local Dunkin Donuts. After about 20 minutes we arrived to our school, Bambini, and meet the other English teachers as well as the Korean teachers and the Bambini staff. Unsure as to what today held, I roamed around the classes taking in the layout while envisioning what the new school year would be like for me. By around 9:10 some of the students arrived for there last day of school and wow are they cute, don’t be shocked if I snatch one and bring he or she home with me. The school morning started and sadly they sent all the new teachers to the hospital for our health check. Overall the health check is pretty standard; weight, height, chest size (really as if this is important), ear and eye test (including color blindness), chest x-ray, blood test and to top it off we all had to pee in a cup. By the end of the week our results were to be in and fortunately we all passed, hurray non of us will be deported . After our excursion we returned to school in time to wave good bye to all the students and then spent the remaining two hours roaming around wondering what exactly we are supposed to be doing right now. This continued on the following two days and I think will be the being of my existents the whole time I am here. Well that may be an exaggeration but really Thursday we were told to prepare our room, okay but how I ask? Well with little response back I simply start observing the other rooms and just printing, laminating and putting things together. By midday the staff gave a bit more guidance but still no define list. Well, five o’clock roles around and we are all ready to go but the staff reminds us the rooms must be finished by Tuesday, ideally tomorrow (Friday) so no one has to come in on the weekend. Well with no precise instruction none of us no what it is we are supposed to be doing. This continued on to Friday and over to Saturday and a bit on Sunday. At the end of it all I can say that Koreans are some of the most inefficient people I have ever met and I think this is to do with there strict abidance to there culture. No one is allowed to talk against there elder so if the elder tells you something to do you must do it without question. This is very different from us and luckily it is expected of us not to abide to this rule. Nevertheless it is very hard to get any work done when the directors are coming to you an hour before its time to go to tell you exactly what needs to be done. I just think to myself, I could have been told this in the morning or the day before. Well I can only reflect on my many months of traveling and that is, nothing goes according to plan so it is best not to over plan because most often things will change.